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Sami and Stefano keep vigil while E.J. is in surgery. A seething Stefano considers Roman a suspect, but Sami argues her father is incapable of committing murder. At the scene of the crime, Roman privately recalls sneaking into the church and aiming a gun at E.J. He continues to remember how he decided not to shoot the groom at the last minute.

Meanwhile, Bo and Shawn question Lucas, who insists he was nowhere near the church when E.J. was shot. Bo asks if Lucas knew Kate owned a gun, but he feigns ignorance. After Bo and Shawn leave, Lucas hurries to the hospital to check on Sami. He pleads with her to come home with him but she insists she can't; she has to see this through to the end. After returning to the apartment, Lucas packs up his gun and ships it to himself.

Stefano heads home to pack an overnight bag and finds Kate in his living room. He asks if she shot his son, and she swears she didn't do it. Bo arrives and demands to know why Kate threatened Stefano and E.J. with a gun and asks where her gun is now. Kate evades as best she can and says she threw the gun in a dumpster after her confrontation with the DiMeras. Kate gets a call from Philip demanding she meet him. He wants to know more about the gun she asked him to hide. At the hospital, Roman discovers a bullet hole in Sami's wedding outfit and concludes E.J. may not have been the only one who was supposed to die.

Belle learns of the shooting at Sami's wedding and comforts her sister. Afterwards, Philip gives her and Claire a ride home from the hospital since Belle still can't reach Shawn. Once in Shawn and Belle's room, Philip suggests he and Belle meet somewhere, just the two of them. Belle correctly gleans he's suggesting an affair and is appalled. She's marrying Shawn! Philip makes clear he's not giving up on her. He pulls her into a white-hot kiss and her resolve is weakened once again. Philip gives Belle his private number and tells her to call him any time. After picking up his voice messages about Claire's accident, Shawn races home without telling anyone at the police station.

Sami wakes up to an idyllic morning with Lucas and the twins the day after E.J.'s shooting. Lucas argues she doesn't have to go back to E.J., but Sami insists she needs to find out what's going to happen to him. Stefano vowed to resume the vendetta if E.J. dies. Sami nearly asks if Lucas shot E.J., but he says if she believes in him, she knows she doesn't have to ask. Sami shows him her dress with the bullet hole, saying someone was after her, too.

At the hospital, E.J. awakens from surgery to learn he is paralyzed. Stefano tries to comfort his devastated son, who pushes him away. Stefano calls Sami and tells her of E.J.'s paralysis and state of mind. He presses her to help E.J. regain his will to live. Sami takes off for the hospital as Lucas sadly reminisces about his and Sami's wedding day. Sami arrives at E.J.'s room and quietly witnesses him breaking down in tears.

Bo confides to Hope his worry that somebody he's close to may be involved in E.J.'s shooting -- someone like Roman. Hope supports him and he sounds out all his theories to her. Bo also relates his disappointment in Shawn for leaving the station without saying anything to anyone. Later, Roman delivers news that the doctors couldn't pull the slug from E.J.'s spine. Bo wonders if his brother might use his friendship with Kate to investigate her part in the shooting. Roman is put off by the idea.

Kate meets with Philip, and he asks what she had to do with E.J.'s shooting. Kate tries to lie, but ultimately admits she fired her gun at the church. After wavering between shooting Sami or E.J., Kate finally shot into the air. Philip agrees to dispose of the gun for her.

Lucas demands Kate give back the gun he gave her so it can't be traced to him. Kate says she handed it over to Philip, and Lucas freaks out. Lucas questions Kate about whether or not she fired the gun, and if Sami was her target. Kate dodges the question, then turns the tables on Lucas, wondering if he fired his gun. It wouldn't be the first time he shot Sami's groom on her wedding day. Kate insists that if he did, she'd take the fall for him. That's how much she loves him.

Sami finds E.J. an emotional wreck and tries to use "tough love" to get him to fight for his life. E.J. is in great despair and won't listen. Sami invokes their son and begs E.J. to hold on for him. He says he can't be a good father now and encourages Sami to file for an annulment and go back to Lucas. He snaps at her to get out and leave him the hell alone. Sami flees the room, telling Stefano she did what she could, but E.J. wishes he were dead. She returns home to Lucas and reports what E.J. said. Lucas is thrilled by the news, but Sami is still torn. Lucas looks forward to raising the twins together, while Sami has a vision of Colleen, who tells her not to give up on E.J. Back at the hospital, E.J. starts to convulse as Stefano watches in horror.

Kayla finds Steve scoping out the crime scene in the church and questions where he went after the intervention at the church. Steve lies and says he was at an auto parts store. Kayla doesn't quite believe him.

The Alpha Chi Theta girls gather at the dean's office for Ford's hearing. Ford smugly gloats that he'll be proven innocent. Morgan and Chelsea stand up to him, while Billie and Jett try to keep everyone calm. Ford's powerful father (and lawyer) arrives, and the girls are stunned to learn he's old friends with the dean. Cordy finally shows up, but announces she can't bring herself to testify against Ford.

Sami and Colleen argue about Sami being the only person who can save E.J. Colleen tells her if E.J. thought she loved him, he would rally. Sami dismisses it since Colleen is just a figment of her imagination. At the hospital, Stefano asks Tony for help in getting through to E.J., but Tony blasts his father.

Meanwhile, Kate pays E.J. a visit. She swears she didn't shoot him and asks what she can do to help. E.J. tells her to bring him her gun so he can kill himself. He has nothing to live for now that he's paralyzed. Kate refuses to give him a gun, and E.J. goes into distress from his infection. As Dr. Berman works to save his life, Kate calls Sami and tells her E.J. is dying. Sami lies to Lucas about where she's going and heads to the hospital. Once there, Sami stuns E.J. by saying she cares about him.

Philip assures Lucas he threw Kate's gun into the lake, but in actuality, he still has it.

A scared Cordy refuses to testify against Ford. Morgan decides to tell the dean how Ford tried to rape her, but Ford's father rips her to shreds. Dean Lochlin drops all charges against Ford, leaving the sorority girls devastated. However, Chelsea rallies them together and comes up with the idea to distribute fliers to warn everyone that Ford is a rapist.

At the hospital, Sami works to convince E.J. she cares for him and wants to be by his side as he recovers. E.J. doesn't believe her, and tells her to go home to Lucas. He'll tell his father to leave the Bradys alone; Stefano will honor his deathbed wish. Sami privately fears this isn't true, and continues her charade.

Lucas asks Billie for the name of a lawyer so he can get full legal custody of his daughter. Billie warns that if he takes legal action behind Sami's back, he'll push her away. Lucas doesn't understand why Sami went back to the hospital when E.J. already told her to let him die. He's beginning to think she loves E.J., in spite of all her denials. Later, a cop brings Will home; he was caught drinking with some other underage boys. Lucas is furious until Will expresses his hurt over the breakup of his family. A compassionate Lucas agrees to send his son to live with Carrie and Austin in Switzerland until things settle down.

Steve drops by the pub to retrieve the gun he hid behind the bar. Shawn catches him before he can get it, and Steve makes a hasty exit. A suspicious Shawn searches the bar. Meanwhile, Bo calls Kate to the station to question her again about her gun. The cops couldn't find it in any dumpster. She admits she might not have tossed it in a dumpster, but says she doesn't remember where she got rid of it. Roman returns from searching Kate's apartment and shows her the gun they found there and asks if she wants to change her story. Shawn calls Bo to the pub, and he shows his dad the gun he found behind the bar. While Bo is proud of Shawn's good police work, he also scolds him for leaving the station without telling anyone. Later, Bo and Shawn confront Steve when he makes another attempt to retrieve the gun.